


Better Late Than Never

by sneakronicity



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Clintasha Week, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-02 02:24:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6546697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sneakronicity/pseuds/sneakronicity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint doesn't realise he is in love with Natasha until it is pointed out to him.  Apparently it was obvious. Apparently everyone knew.  And apparently now he's going to have to do something about it since he can't stop thinking about her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Late Than Never

**Author's Note:**

> Written Clintasha Week 2016 Day 2: Headcanons. Spanning Avengers Assemble S2E15 to S2E18, and playing off the headcanon "Everyone knew Clint was in love with Natasha before he did." This is my first full length fic in over a year, so I hope y'all enjoy!

Clint felt off. He still made his shots, still took down the bad guys, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that the Avengers were at an extreme disadvantage. No Cap calling strategies, no Hulk smashing, and no Falcon swooping in to save their asses. Sure, they still had Iron Man's suit and brains, and Thor's godlike strength and powers, but Clint felt like a part of him was missing, his left arm or maybe an eye. Something critical.

Of course he knew exactly what that thing was, the thing he _wasn't_ thinking of, but he wasn't willing to admit it until he left his back open and only just barely avoided losing his head. Literally.

“Get the lead out, Hawkeye!” Iron Man instructed, sounding somewhere between annoyed and concerned.

Shaking himself, Clint managed to pull it together and help incapacitate their last foe, but it was a harder fought battle than it should have been.

Trudging into the tower later, irritable and short tempered, the silence was thick enough to chew. “It was a hard fought victory, my friends, but a victory nonetheless,” Thor eventually said when Tony and Clint glaring silent daggers at each other became too much.

“Victory, pfft,” Clint muttered, removing his quiver and placing it carefully in the armoury with his bow.

“Yes, a victory, no thanks to _you_ ,” Tony said accusingly, still fully armoured except for the helmet. “What were you doing out there, just counting arrows?”

“Um... fighting?” Clint replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world to the absolute stupidest question.

“Oh, is that what you call it? Because it looked a whole lot like almost dying,” Tony shot back. “Just because your girlfriend ditched you doesn't mean you can just sleepwalk through these fights. You're still an Avenger.”

Through this short exchange, Thor had been looking back and forth between them, but this seemed to be the cue to step in. “Tony, it is not good form bringing his heartache into this.”

“Heartache?” Clint sputtered, looking fit to be tied. What were they even talking about? “She didn't ditch... she is not my girlfriend!”

Just like that Tony's anger seemed to vanish and he and Thor exchanged a knowing look. “Look, we all know there's something going-”

“There's nothing going on between us!” Clint cut in, not even letting Tony finish. “We're just friends. And partners. I mean, I've known her longer than any of the rest of you, and pretty much anyone else, so we're close, but it's not like... _that_ close.”

Another look was shared, and when Thor shrugged, Tony continued. “Okay...” he drew the word out, making it clear he didn't believe it. “Then we all know you're in love with her, so the point still stands.”

Clint's eyes went wide, and he looked at Thor as if to ask 'you can't be serious?' Thor offered no reprieve. “Aye, it is as clear as those tiny crystal figures Hulk collects,” he confirmed, and Clint looked positively stricken, so Thor continued helpfully, “Sam told us of the rendezvous he interrupted before the two of you abandoned him at the fair to be alone with one another, so obviously we assumed...”

“No obviously!” Clint protested loudly. “There's nothing obvious here!”

“Come on, Clint. We're your friends, you don't have to try to be all secretive. Even JARVIS knew,” Tony said, reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder, but it was shrugged off.

“Aw, come on,” Clint groaned, dropping his arms to his sides and looking up at the ceiling.

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir?” the disembodied voice answered.

“You knew Clint was in love with Natasha, right?” Tony asked, only barely concealing his smirk. Now that the anger was gone and the mission behind them, he was thoroughly enjoying seeing his teammate so uncomfortable.

“Of course, sir. I thought this was common knowledge.”

Tony was grinning smugly at this point, and Thor smiling broadly as if they were being awesome friends and helping Clint. Clint was pretty sure that even JARVIS would be grinning if he could. “What does he know? He's just a computer.”

“Actually, I am a-”

“Shut up, JARVIS,” Clint cut him off before rounding on the others and pointing an accusatory finger at them. “I don't have to stand here and listen to this. You're all crazy.” And with that he stormed off.

Standing in his wake, Thor nodded sagely. “I believe you are right. He is just upset Natasha left him in the ditch.”

Tony sighed.

\-------------------------------->

By the time Clint reached the sanctity of what was left of his room, he was positively fuming. In love with her? In love with Natasha? It was ridiculous! Of course he wasn't in love with her! Sure, she knew him better than anyone in the world, and he was one of the few people she actually let get to really know her, but that was because they were friends. And yes, they trusted each other above all others, but that was because they had been teammates for so long. They knew each others' fighting moves, could communicate with few words, and always had each others' backs, but that didn't mean he loved her.

He didn't really want to admit it, since he was still pissed that she had chosen to go back to SHIELD with Cap, but he really did miss her. He missed how they were usually so in sync and on the same page, and how perfectly they complimented each other. He missed how she always believed in him, and how he could always count on her. He missed that little hint of a smile she wore when he told a joke that she clearly found funny but didn't want everyone to know.

And then there were the little things, like how she always gave him the crust off her pizza, so he ended up with more than his share; and how the sunlight made her hair almost seem to burn like fire; and how she loved the first snowfall of every year and never failed to step out in it while it was falling.

He missed her laugh, and how she pushed him to be at his best; he missed her silent comfort, and how she always kept him on his toes. Most of all he missed how he felt when he was around her.

He was always happiest when he was with her.

“Aw, man! Talk about inconvenient,” Clint moaned, sinking down onto his bed and covering his face with his hands. “They're right.”

He was in love with Natasha.

\-------------------------------->

Seeing her again had been difficult after coming to the realisation that apparently everyone else had already reached. At first he had been snippy, but when the chance to work at her side came again he'd jumped at it, only to be shot down by Tony and Steve. So not cool. But he'd done his duty and worked with Hulk, but the second they could swap partners they set things straight.

Fighting beside her again had been... gods, he couldn't even describe it. Like getting his bow back after having to fight with crappy guns for a few weeks. This was how they were meant to fight.

When all was said and done and the team was reunited, they had returned to the tower and ordered in some pizza. Natasha gave Clint her crust and he looked at her like she was his sun, and everyone else exchanged questioning and knowing looks, but said nothing.

Later on they all went to their separate rooms, but try as he might Clint couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Natasha, how happy he was to have her back, and the realisation he had come to while she'd been gone. What was he supposed to do about that? Just carry on as usual? Start dropping hints? Act like a total child and ask Steve if she liked him back? It was all ridiculous. So in true Hawkeye fashion he turned off his brain and jumped in with both feet.

At three minutes to three in the morning he knocked on her door.

When Natasha opened the door she actually looked a little surprised to see him, though also more than a little annoyed. “Clint, it's three in the morning. Do you want me to regret moving back in already?”

“So I guess I'm in love with you,” he blurted out in response and even if she tried Natasha couldn't have hid her shock at the abrupt statement.

“What?” was actually all she could manage to say, which he figured was a first, to leave Natasha Romanoff speechless.

“I said I guess I'm in love with you,” he repeated, not sure how to elaborate on that yet, but he was sure it would come to him.

Natasha stared at him for a long moment, visibly pulling her mask into place before continuing the conversation. “You guess?” she asked.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he shrugged. “Well, I mean, Tony said I was.” He knew it was lame the second it left his mouth. Honestly, he should have known before that.

She continued to stare at him like he was crazy before rolling her eyes and stepping back so he could enter. “Oh, and of course Tony is always right,” she scoffed, closing the door behind him and walking over to take a seat on the sofa. Tony being _wrong_ was exactly why the team had fallen apart in the first place, but of course Clint had stuck by him so why should she be surprised at this?

“Okay, okay, fine, so maybe I didn't make the best choice,” he admitted, taking a seat at the other end of the couch and pulling one leg up on the cushion so he could turn to face her. “But come on, neither choice was really that great. We're a team, and we work better that way.”

Natasha's expression actually softened a little at that. “I suppose,” she conceded, “but that doesn't explain the... other thing.”

“Oh. Right.” Rubbing his hands on his knees, Clint tried to figure out the best way forward. How was he supposed to explain this when he'd taken so long to realise it himself? Clearly the best course of action was to just start talking and see what came out. Because that had never bit him in the ass before.

“When we were on separate teams I was just so pissed at you,” he started, which earned a raised eyebrow and a very unpleasant expression. Right, moving on. “but... something was off. I couldn't fight as good, and just couldn't get my head in the game.”

“So you think you're in love with me because Tony said you were, and you suck at fighting without me?” she tried to summarize, and Clint couldn't quite tell if she was honestly confused or just messing with him at this point.

“It wasn't just Tony. Thor said it too. And JARVIS,” he pointed out, just a shade petulantly.

“JARVIS,” she said flatly. Clint nodded. “JARVIS said you love me.”

He nodded again, and when it was clear she was just going to sit there and stare at him like he'd grown another head, he decided it was time to push on. “Look, just forget about the others and go back to the other bit. About being better with you, and not just the fighting. Everything is better with you.”

Her mind was working behind that unshakable poker face, and he thought he could see a glint of something very promising in her eyes. “Everything?” she asked after a moment, and although she didn't smirk he swore he could hear it in her voice.

“Well, I'm _assuming_ everything...” he couldn't resist replying. Come on, that had been nothing if not a set-up for some innuendo.

She silently raised an eyebrow in reply and waited.

Right.

“Okay, okay, you know I suck at serious stuff, but here goes,” he took a deep breath and jumped in. “I love you. You've been my best friend for, like, forever, and we always have fun together. Everything is better when you're around, and... you make me better. You push me to be at my best, and you never give up on me. Not having you around sucked, and I don't ever wanna do that again. So yeah, they were all right. I love you, and you know it's true because you know how much I hate admitting they're right.”

The seconds ticked by in silence and Clint felt himself starting to sweat. Why wasn't she saying anything? Why was she just staring at him like that. Damn, she thought he was crazy, and she was just trying to figure out a way to let him down easy, wasn't she? How could she get this sad sack out of her room at three in the morning so she could get back to sleep?

But suddenly a miracle happened: she smiled . Not a smirk, or a ghost of a smile, but a true, genuine, wide grin. “Took you long enough,” she said, and Clint just about choked.

“ _You knew?!”_ he gasped, completely appalled.

“Of course I knew,” Natasha replied, her smile growing mischievous. “ _Everyone_ knew.” Clint spluttered but could come up with no response. “Now stop talking. You're terrible at it.”

He actually thought that had been a pretty good speech there in the end, but he didn't try to convince her of it. Especially not when she leaned in and kissed him. Yup, that was enough talking for one night.

 


End file.
